Rob at movierob and Abbi at abbiosbiston have posted entries: “50 Questions to Get to Know Me Better”, and I have decided to follow suit since it looks fun and I am always ready for that kind of a challenge (and, maybe also because I have decided to do something different since tomorrow my blog is 6 years old (not a baby anymore)). Whoever else would like to take up the challenge, I am sure is welcome too!

This film proved to be themostdivisiveat this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and there was a good reason for the audience and critics to feel so confused and uncertain. “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” is a product of Yorgos Lanthimos, the director who is making his name as a master of original, unsettling and thought-provoking films; the director who is already an expert in crafting awe-inspiring settings which as much provoke as they disturb, and which the more mainstream audience could hardly even fathom. In “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”, a well-to-do surgeon (Colin Farrell) strikes an unlikely friendship with a fatherless boy, without even realising the possible negative consequences of their ever-closer union. A seemingly mundane plot here slowly transpires into something unimaginable, and with the excellent support from Nicole Kidman, and with impressive Barry Keoghan and Raffey Cassidy, this film becomes an almost brilliant interplay of the unusual, the menacing and the astonishing, while being totally effective throughout.

Some of these films do not contain nudity or contain only limited nudity. The references to eroticism/erotica and sensuality may be only subtle, but powerful. Incidentally, three of the below films are by a British director Adrian Lyne (“Jacob’s Ladder” (1990)) and two by a growing Italian master of subtle and powerful erotically-charged films Luca Guadagnino (“A Bigger Splash” (2015)). In no particular order:

Speakeasy and Silver Screenings are presenting The Food in FilmBlogathon, and I thought I must participate since food in films has always fascinated me. Food can be used sensually in a movie, as in “Como Agua Para Chocolate” (1992), in “I Am Love” (2009) or even in “The Lunchbox” (2013), or it can be used morbidly, as in “Rope” (1948), among other purposes and expressions. But, in many films, it seems to inexplicably connect main characters, and my choice of a film is exactly the one where food functions as such. In the Italian-language film “Facing Windows“, food does not play a leading role, but it does provide a point of connection between the main characters, becomes one of the components of a hidden passion, and symbolises the idea of remaining true to oneself, one’s origin and one’s beliefs.

Facing Windows (2003)

In this film, Giovanna (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and her husband Filippo (Filippo Nigro) stumble upon an amnesiac man, Simone (Massimo Girotti), while out, and take him to their home. Simone only remembers a name “Simone” and a particular neighbourhood in Rome. While Giovanna gets entangled into Simone’s mysteries, she also becomes infatuated with the neighbour whose windows are just opposite hers, handsome bachelor Lorenzo (Raoul Bova), and the duo soon pursue the mystery behind Simone’s true identity together. Coming from Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek, this film is a gem of the Italian-language cinema. It is an emotionally-moving, mystery-filled film, which also provides an in-depth character study. While the story here is interesting and poignant, the film is also beautifully presented, with aesthetically-pleasing shots and a very memorable, melancholy-inducing soundtrack, most of which is written by Andrea Guerra (“Hotel Rwanda” (2004)).